"Ate My Balls" Syntax Generator

[Anonymous Monk]

Category:

Perl-Fu For Beginners

Description:

For those new to Perl, this script uses the ever-popular "Ate My Balls" joke to demonstrate simple concepts like variable assignments, while() loops, printing, simple array manipulation, and the use of Perl's rand() function.
Consider this Chapter 1 in your quest for Perl skillz. I will post more simple scripts like these as I continue to strengthen my "rabid sloth" style of Perl-Fu.

#!/usr/bin/perl
$a=5;                                                                 
+  # Here we make a new variable called "a" to use as a simple loop co
+unter. 
                                                                      
+  # Now, we'll create some arrays, and start them off with some fresh
+ elements.

@group=("swarm","heap","load","gang","squad","bunch","cluster","family
+","team"); # This is an array, called group. Arrays are designated wi
+th in at-symbol (@) prefix.
@adjective=("crack-smoking","supple","furious","sexy","hyperactive","i
+nquisitive","hot","old","crazy");
@noun=("midgets","Cuban refugees","clowns","bitches","programmers","ba
+bies","dogs","hep-cats","apes");

while($a>0)                                                           
+  # This is a simple while-loop construct. It uses the same syntax as
+ Java, or C,
        {                                                             
+  # with one exception...You need to enclose even singular expression
+s in braces.
        $index=rand(9);                                               
+  # This generates a random integer between 0 and 9, and stores it in
+ $index
        print( "\nMr. T says, \"Daaaaammmn!!! A @group[$index]");     
+  # First part of the line is printed here, in this statement.
        $index=rand(9);                                               
+  # A new number is generated, and stored in $index.
        print( " of @adjective[$index]");                             
+  # The n'th element ($index) of the array is printed here.
        $index=rand(9);                                               
+  # A new random number is generated and stored in $index.
        print( " @noun[$index] just ate my balls!!\"");               
+  # The end of the line is printed.
        $a--;                                                         
+  # Our loop counter is decremented here, and the loop iterates.
        }

print("\n\n");                                                        
+  # Toss in a few newlines to keep things pretty, and we're all done!

[Nitsuj]

Additionally, you could modify this code to load the nouns, groups, and adjectives from a file or several files, do a word count on the files for the numbers to put into the rand statement, and run the script that way. You could even write a secondary script to allow users a website using such a script to submit words to the file to be used. GREAT script though, perhaps when I get home from work, I will remember to post my code (very similar) that loads the words from a file (wrote it for my snowboard team's website). Great example, and great theme (gotta love the "Ate My Balls" webring.

"We're all different!"
"I'm not"
-The Life of Brian

[Anonymous Monk]

Your script works as advertised, and the fact that it's wordier than necessary is obviously deliberate, so that beginners can follow it more easily. The one problem I *do* have with it is that there is no-reason to hard-code to number of elements in each list. Much better to use the $# construct to return the size of the list. In other words:

print "@groups[rand($#groups + 1)]\n";

will work even if you add or remove members from @groups.

[Anonymous Monk]

Whoops, I'm new here and didn't realize comments were html-ized. That line of code should read:

print "@groups[rand($#groups + 1)]\n";

That is all.

[chromatic]

Hmm, even shorter to say: print $groups[rand(@groups)], "\n"; Did the OP mean to take an array slice?

[Anonymous Monk]

Or rather:

print "@groups[rand($#groups + 1)]\n";

Phew, a "preview post" button would've helped though...